The present invention relates to an archery practice and exercise device as well as attachments therefor.
Known exercising methods or devices for archery generally consist of weightlifting, rubber or metal spring pulling, bow pulling without releasing an arrow and, of course, bow pulling and releasing of arrows. However, all manufacturers of bows strongly recommend against "dry firing" (which is the releasing of the string of the bow without shooting an arrow) because it can severly damage the bow and adversely affect the archer. Except for bow and arrow practice arrangements which require special facilities and safety precautions, presently existing devices do not permit an archer to draw, aim and release his bow without subjecting the same to damage.
Further, it is known in the art to utilize special bow arrangements or attachments to a bow for projecting missiles or the like. However, such known devices do not serve as exercise or practice devices. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,069,821 issued Feb. 9, 1937 and 2,214,224 issued Sept. 10, 1940, both to H. A. Douglas, disclose a missile projecting device utilizing a piston-cylinder type arrangement which is constructed as a part of a special, sole purpose bow. Such patents are directed to the construction of a weapon which is more efficient than a regular arrow and disclose a device formed as a part of the bow wherein the cylinder portion extends rearwardly of the handleriser of the bow. U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,657 issued Aug. 7, 1956 to H. H. Lohmeyer discloses another pellet projection device utilizing the energy of a piston-cylinder attachment to a bow for enhancing the power of a bow. In this patent, also, the cylinder portion extends rearwardly of the handleriser of the bow. U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,311 issued Mar. 23, 1971 to R. T. Baer discloses a device which extends rearwardly of the handleriser of a bow and provides for a permanent attachment of an impact head to the bow string. The impact head moves through a barrel for transferring the energy of the bow to a projectile so as to propel the projectile from the barrel. Since the projectile has a relatively small mass, the energy of the bow limbs (especially compound bows) which is not totally transferred to the projectile has to be absorbed by the bow itself with the danger of damage to the bow. U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,009 issued Mar. 27, 1979 to B. D. Adams discloses a device which is mounted rearwardly of the handleriser in the form of a barrel, and a carrier for movement through the barrel, wherein the string of the bow is attached permanently to the carrier and transfers energy of the bow to a projectile. Each of the aforementioned patents is directed to an arrangement for propelling projectiles or missiles from a bow with the purpose of enhancing the power of the bow. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,611 issued Apr. 15, 1975 to Morrison et al discloses a toy in the form of a water gun and bow arrangement which incorporates an elastic string attached to a bow-like structure and operates in the manner of a bow to project water or other liquid. While this patent utilizes a piston-cylinder arrangement, the major portion of the cylinder is disposed rearwardly of the handleriser of the bow. Thus, the aforementioned patents are not directed to archery practice or exercise devices and generally provide a permanent or semi-permanent connection with the bow structure with the device being located rearwardly of the handleriser of the bow and with the string of the bow being permanently attached thereto. As such, these devices are bulky, expensive to produce, difficult to use and impractical as an exercise and practice device.